Scaling plans are a core feature of prop trading—rewarding consistent traders with more capital and better profit splits. Top firms like BrightFunded, FundedNext, and Blueberry Funded offer some of the best scaling programs in the industry, helping you turn solid performance into serious growth.
Scaling plans allow successful traders to grow the funds available exponentially and increase possible earnings, and are one of the main features of prop trading. As you demonstrate consistent trading performance and strong risk management skills, prop firms will reward you with more capital allocation.
Scaling plans allow successful traders to grow the funds available exponentially and increase possible earnings, and are one of the main features of prop trading. BrightFunded, FundedNext, and Blueberry Funded offer three of the best scaling programs in the industry.
BrightFunded’s unlimited scaling plan is designed for long-term traders who consistently hit performance targets. Once funded, traders can increase their account balance by 30% every 4 months, provided the following conditions are met:
Scaling is ongoing with no upper cap, and from the third scale-up onward, traders receive a 100% profit split—meaning you keep all the profits. Combined with the Trade2Earn loyalty program, which rewards active trading with perks like free challenges and better payout terms, BrightFunded is ideal for traders who want both flexibility and longevity.
FundedNext offers a clear and structured Scale-Up Plan with one of the largest potential account allocations in the industry—up to $4 million. Traders who maintain strong performance over a 4-month period can qualify for a 40% capital increase. Here’s what you need:
If you meet these milestones, your account size increases by 40%, and the profit split remains as high as 95% depending on your account model. The drawdown limits are also adjusted proportionally, giving you room to scale without tighter restrictions.
Blueberry Funded rewards steady performance with a 25% account increase every 3 months, allowing growth up to $2 million in simulated capital. To qualify:
Profit splits start at 80%, but can increase to 90% for top performers. Trading conditions remain the same even as your account scales, so your strategy doesn’t need to change—just your position sizing.
If you have proven to the firm that you are a profitable trader and manage risk well, the prop firm will want you to handle more capital. As long as you meet all the scaling requirements, providing you with a bigger chunk of the firm’s capital means bigger profit potential for everyone involved, with the prop firm literally investing in your talent and betting on your success.
This is your pathway to growth within a prop firm, allowing you access to a larger account size and more buying power than what you likely have with your personal funds, turning prop trading into a career path with strong earning potential. This mechanism is what allows many prop firms to attract and retain winning traders.
Of course, prop firms will not simply hand out more capital to their prop traders, they need to earn it first before being granted capital increases. Rules differ between trading firms, but the main details that are common in the industry are detailed below.
This is where most trading prop firms differ, as not all prop firms provide scaling plans at the same speed. Depending on the firm, these plans can be gradual or rapid.
The key here is to find the prop firm with a scaling plan that is in sync with your trading style and personality and how quickly you can adapt to the increasing risk exposure. Only then can you figure out which trading firm is better for you.
Once you get a funded account, your next target is to get more trading capital. But before you can unlock those scaling increments, you need to hit trading goals or performance milestones.
Typically, prop firms set these targets in percentage terms rather than fixed dollar amounts, usually between 5-15%, before triggering the first capital increase.
If you are trading a 50,000 account, you need to make more than $2,500 to $7,500, depending on the firm. Beginner-friendly targets set at 5-8% help relatively new traders build momentum.
These targets will progress to 8-12%, get more challenging, and increase to 15% once you handle more money.
Your trading style plays a big factor in how fast you can level up through the scaling plans, with different styles having different scaling potential.
Day trading usually provides the fastest way to move past the scaling levels. Frequently trading gives you more chances to lock in profits, potentially hitting those profit targets faster. However, this approach also increases the chance of hitting drawdown limits, potentially closing your account.
Swing trading is a more balanced style. You may not scale as fast as day traders, but you’ll have less risk exposure here. Many traders find this the ideal middle ground, and an approach that works with most prop firm scaling plans.
Position trading strategies may be slower compared to day traders or swing traders, but this approach provides the safest way to scale higher in the long term.
Finding a prop firm with a scaling structure that aligns with your trading approach is usually a good idea. Some firms will be a match for active traders, while more consistent and methodical traders may be at home with certain prop trading firms.
Beyond hitting profit targets, prop firms examine how you achieve them, evaluating the quality of your trading and other performance criteria, which will dictate how they increase your funded trading account. Up next is what trading firms usually look for before upgrading your funded capital.
Prop firms are now adopting algorithms to automatically analyze these metrics, customizing scaling plans according to each trader’s style and strengths. This allows them to identify funded traders eligible for account upgrades quickly.
Hitting profit targets is great, but prop firms look beyond this before scaling your account to the next level. They have other key trading parameters you need to reach before you can get a bigger trading account.
While it varies, many prop firms will want to see you trading actively with at least 10, 15, 30 days, etc, before they’ll consider upgrading your account size. You can hit your profit goals, but scaling won’t automatically happen unless you reach the required trading days before getting a bump on your capital.
Some of them will even look at how you spread your trades across the month, as they’d rather see you make a few but consistent trades each day, than cramming your activities in a short period of time. This way, they can identify traders with sustainable trading strategies, rather than gamblers looking to make quick profits.
Before being trusted with more capital allocation, prop firms need to see that you can maintain consistent profitability. As your account size grows, you must demonstrate that you can handle the increased pressure and responsibility that comes with it.
Trading dynamics differ significantly from the initial capital allocation of $25,000, with a scaled plan of $100,000, and prop firms know this. If the firms notice that your performance dips after scaling, they may hold off on upgrading your account, making it crucial to keep following risk management protocols to maintain consistent performance.
Prop firms use guardrails to help their prop traders stay on the right path to success, especially as the trading account size increases, ensuring adherence to risk parameters. While guidelines vary between trading firms, they usually follow a common template.
Daily drawdown limits are in place to keep losses usually under 5% of the account value on any single day. Hit this and you risk getting your account shut down.
Maximum drawdown limits, on the other hand, usually cap the allowable loss from a trader’s peak account value, breach this limit, and you may face account termination.
Position holding periods usually restrict overnight or weekend positions, as a lot of things can happen between sessions. However, some firms will allow or relax some holding restrictions if you have shown consistent profitability.
News trading is usually restricted to 2-10 minute high impact news windows, as price swings can be significant during these periods, with trading firms viewing news traders as gamblers due to the unpredictable nature of the news.
Instrument restrictions are also commonly applied, especially to volatile ones like cryptocurrencies. These can loosen as traders progress to higher account levels.
Some other rules may be introduced, and the rules mentioned above may be restricted or relaxed as you progress through the scaling levels.
Scaling plans allow for increased profit potential, but to keep winning and levelling up your account, you need to adjust trading strategies from when you started trading, as they may no longer apply to scaled-up accounts.
Simply increasing your trade position sizing won’t cut it, you need to change your mental approach, update your strategy or learn a few more skills. You don’t have to overhaul your entire trading strategy as your account grows, but making it adaptable is a trait successful traders have in the prop trading industry.
Effective risk management remains crucial, especially with scaled-up accounts. The temptation to take more risks with bigger accounts is strong, making risk management more critical at this point.
Here’s how to maintain risk discipline as you scale up.
Risk management rules are set up to protect the firm’s capital, but these rules also set up the prop traders for long-term success, while preventing disaster in the short term. These rules are designed to protect both the firm and the trader, and understanding them will help you reach your performance milestones while also helping you scale up your account.
Following these risk parameters, you demonstrate to the prop trading firm that you can be trusted, making it more likely for them to accelerate your scaling plan. It is not unusual for firms to be more lenient with traders with a track record of consistent performance and risk management.
BrightFunded has one of the best scaling plans and funded accounts, offering unlimited 30% account growth every 4 months and 100% profit splits from the third scale-up onward. It’s built for long-term growth and high-profit retention.
FundedNext is another top prop firm, with capital scaling up to $4 million and 40% increases every 4 months. Blueberry Funded is a broker-backed option, scaling accounts by 25% every 3 months up to $2 million.
Scaling plans are a structured system that a prop firm offers traders to increase trading capital, once they have proven consistent profitability. Once you hit certain performance criteria, the firm will increase the allocated capital to you, allowing you to trade larger positions and increasing your profit potential. This paves the way for you to grow without putting more capital yourself.
Yes, FundedNext offers a scaling plan that allows their prop traders to increase their account size by up to 40%, and up to a maximum capital allocation of $4 million. Traders need to accumulate an account growth of 10% over four consecutive months and receive at least two payouts during the period. Read the full FundedNext review for more info.
Consistent performance is the best way to scale up your account. But first, you need to master risk management, follow all trading rules by the prop firm, especially those related to risk management, and minimize drawdowns. Be consistently profitable, show the firm that you can keep it up in the long term, and hit specific profit targets in the scaling plan. Finally, all the criteria, like the minimum trading days or other specific performance metrics, must be met.
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